nepeta

See also: Nepeta and népéta

English

Etymology

From Nepeta (“genus name”).

Noun

nepeta (plural nepetas)

1. (botany) Any plant of the genus Nepeta of flowering plants, including catnip and ground ivy.
   • 1997 October 13, New York: Interior Design ′97, page 79,

     NICE DIGS: Tomato tepees, nepeta, strawberries, and herbs in raised beds billow onto the gravel walk; a neat lattice camouflages a propane tank.

   • 2006 Spring, Early Homes, page 42,

     The property is now protected by deer fencing, but Nancy spent many years experimenting with plants that are deer resistant, such as lavender, nepeta (catmint), and peonies.

   • 2007 May-June, Old House Interiors, page 103,

     TOP. Mirror-image borders in Hampshire, with purple nepeta, carmine-red geraniums, and yellow thalictrum.

Anagrams

• Penate

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Latin

Etymology

Probably from the city of Nepi in Italy (called Nepete in Roman times).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈne.pe.ta/, [ˈnɛpɛt̪ä]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈne.pe.ta/, [ˈnɛːpet̪ä]

Noun

nepeta f (genitive nepetae); first declension

1. catnip

Declension

First-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	nepeta	nepetae
Genitive	nepetae	nepetārum
Dative	nepetae	nepetīs
Accusative	nepetam	nepetās
Ablative	nepetā	nepetīs
Vocative	nepeta	nepetae

Descendants

• Asturian: nébeda
• Catalan: nepta
• Corsican: nepita
• French: népète, népéta
• Old English: nepte
  • Middle English: nep
    • English: catnip

• Galician: nébeda, néboda
• Italian: nipitella, nepitella
• Neapolitan: anepeta
• Portuguese: nêveda
• Spanish: nébeda, nébida

References

• “nepeta”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• nepeta in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.